CC Sabathia Featured In Yankees' Ticket Ads Despite Poor Season In '13

Despite a down year, Sabathia seems to be the Yankees' best option for the ads

While Yankees P CC Sabathia is coming off a season with his fewest wins with the Yankees and the highest ERA of his career, he still played a "starring role" in the ads for Yankees tickets last week in the N.Y Times, N.Y. Daily News and on the team's website, according to Richard Sandomir of the N.Y. TIMES. Sabathia is "still a consequential Yankee, the team's ace," and is "relatively young, at 33." He also is "not rehabilitating a twice-fractured ankle," like SS Derek Jeter. Sabathia "is not recovering from wrist surgery" like 1B Mark Teixeira, nor is he "newly retired, as are Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte." Yankees Dir of Communications & Media Relations Jason Zillo said that Jeter "would ultimately show up in plenty of ticket promotions, even if Sabathia is the new leadoff man." Zillo "defended using the pitcher first despite his subpar 2013 credentials." The Yankees "knew they could not assign the ticket-marketing job to the virtually unmarketable" 3B Alex Rodriguez (N.Y. TIMES, 12/1).